AROUND THE N.B.A.; A Documentary Puts Telfair on the Marquee

By Liz Robbins

Published: March 26, 2006

Sebastian Telfair was thrilled with the reviews. But he wished they were of his N.B.A. career, not the documentary ''Through the Fire,'' which chronicled his senior year at Brooklyn's Lincoln High School.

''It's getting a bigger response than I thought I would get and people who were producing the movie thought I would get,'' said Telfair, the second-year point guard for Portland. The movie was shown on ESPN on March 12 and is already out on DVD. ''It's a different group of people who recognize me now.''

One person who has not paid him much attention lately is his cousin Stephon Marbury. Their relationship has grown increasingly chilly. ''He's been very busy the last couple of weeks,'' Telfair said with a shrug, referring to Marbury's sparring match with Knicks Coach Larry Brown.

Telfair and his coach, Nate McMillan, have also not always been on the same wavelength this season -- McMillan wanting to see more defense and better shot selection, Telfair wondering why he fell out of the starting lineup.

''I wanted to come in and have a smoother season; I thought I was going to have more opportunity to play,'' he said.

With the Blazers' season lost long ago, Telfair (9.1 points, 3.6 assists) has started the last three games with unimpressive results. He missed 16 games in December with a sprained right thumb. When he returned, Steve Blake and Juan Dixon had taken over the backcourt.

At the end of February, Telfair missed two games while serving a league suspension for carrying a loaded gun onto the Blazers' charter plane.

''It was an honest mistake, it happens,'' Telfair said. ''I learn from it.''

McMillan wants Telfair to learn more about his job this summer, including improving his defense and his midrange jumpers. McMillan watched only the final 30 minutes of the documentary and was amazed at what Telfair endured, his juggling of the demands from family and shoe companies.

''As a high school kid, he's gone through a lot,'' McMillan said. ''Other than LeBron, I don't know if anyone has gotten as much attention. The guy that I saw in that film is the one I know. He has a lot of fight in him.''